Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 22

Devanagari script

सहस्राक्ष सहस्रांघ्रे सहस्रकिरणाय च । सहस्रमूर्ते श्रीकांत नमस्ते यज्ञपूरुष

Transliteration

sahasrākṣa sahasrāṃghre sahasrakiraṇāya ca | sahasramūrte śrīkāṃta namaste yajñapūruṣa

Translation

O Tausendäugiger, Tausendfüßiger; o Tausendstrahliger; o Tausendgestaltiger Herr, der Śrī lieb ist—Verehrung Dir, o Yajña-Puruṣa, Puruṣa, der selbst das Opfer ist.

Word by Word

• सहस्राक्ष: O thousand-eyed one
• सहस्राक्ष: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक) + अक्षि/अक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन — 'O thousand-eyed one'

• सहस्रांघ्रे: O thousand-footed one
• सहस्रांघ्रे: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक) + अङ्घ्रि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति, एकवचन — 'O thousand-footed one'

• सहस्रकिरणाय: to the thousand-rayed one
• सहस्रकिरणाय: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक) + किरण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी-विभक्ति, एकवचन — 'to the thousand-rayed one'

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चय-बोधक)

• सहस्रमूर्ते: O thousand-formed one
• सहस्रमूर्ते: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक) + मूर्ति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति, एकवचन — 'O thousand-formed one'

• श्रीकान्त: O beloved of Śrī (Lakṣmī)
• श्रीकान्त: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्री (प्रातिपदिक) + कान्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति, एकवचन — 'O beloved of Śrī'

• नमः: salutation
• नमः: Sambodhana/Prayojana (Salutation/नमस्कार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नमस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात) — नमस्कारार्थकः

• ते: to you
• ते: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्वद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, चतुर्थी-विभक्ति, एकवचन — 'to you'

• यज्ञपूरुष: O sacrificial Person
• यज्ञपूरुष: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यज्ञ (प्रातिपदिक) + पुरुष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति, एकवचन — 'O Yajña-Puruṣa'

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A cosmic Viṣṇu-Puruṣa whose aura suggests thousand eyes and feet; rays emanate like suns; Śrī (Lakṣmī) stands near, indicating ‘Śrīkānta’; offerings rise as luminous smoke becoming the deity.

Characters & Entities

• Viṣṇu
• Śrī (Lakṣmī)
• Yajña-Puruṣa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

All worship and sacrifice culminate in the Supreme; seeing the Lord as Yajña unites ritual with inner devotion.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī is the overarching sacred landscape of the Kāśīkhaṇḍa; this verse is a universal cosmic-form stuti.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No specific rite is commanded; it frames yajña itself as divine, encouraging reverent performance and remembrance.